Down the Street

Just a regular street with a reflection.

See other wonderful reflections from around the world at Weekend Reflections hosted by James.

I Spy a Phoenix

Just happened to pass by this car with very cool wheels the other day.

I know nothing about cars but since it had the name Toyota on the back of the car, I'm assuming that's what it is. Brilliant detective work, huh?

P-P-P-Parking Space

I know the parking lot sign is suppose to represent a car.

But to me, it looks like a UFO. Doesn't it?

Anyways, this is the three story parking lot for the shopping center, Parco. On the weekends cars line up on the street, waiting for parking space. Usually it's the dad waiting in the car, watching TV on the car navigation, while the rest of the family get a head start on their shopping spree!


Take a look at more beautiful skies all around the world here.

A Pinch of Color

A gorgeous sky spread above the parking lot. Isn't this a great way to end the week? I hope everyone enjoys a bright and colorful weekend!

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky." -Rabindranath Tagore




Take a look at more beautiful skies all around the world here.

Distracted

This is what I almost ran into when I was walking home from the station with my nose deep in a book. A really good book.

I even walked up the plank some before I realized I wasn't on the road anymore. Good thing the driver wasn't there or he may of had me arrested for WWR (walking-while-reading). Whew!

Super Mom

The west exit of Tokorozawa Station was packed with people.

They were there to see Ryoko Tani, who is a famous Japanese Judo athlete. She's won one bronze, two silver, and two gold medals in the last five Olympics. Pretty amazing, right?

She is also known for being a mommy athlete, as she had a son in 2005 before the Beijing Olympics, and her second son just last year. Her husband is also a famous baseball player.


But now, apparently she's up to not only juggling judo and motherhood, but also politics, too. It was announced in May that she would be running for the upcoming Upper House election.

And this was her making her campaign speech in Tokorozawa. You can see her on the campaign car below. I'm not really sure how she's going to handle being a mom, an athlete, and a politician but the election is next week!

The Silver Lady

Zoomed in on an abandoned (or maybe just a badly kept) car in the parking lot the other day. I went to get a better look and saw that it was a Rolls Royce.

Like I've said before, I'm not very into cars. But even I know that this hood ornament. The Spirit of Ecstasy.



We are heading into our Golden Week here in Japan. It is a period when we have consecutive holidays so basically we get almost a week off. This year, if you take a day off this friday, you can have a full 7 days of vacation. Some people even take thursday and friday off next week and enjoy 11 days of vacation.

I don't know how people can go back to work after taking such a long break. But I'm looking forward to my 5 days of Golden Week and feel just like the silver lady. Feeling the breeze and ready to take flight!

Friendly Flags

I was walking by a local car dealership in Tokorozawa when I noticed all these flags above me. There were so many of them! And it was as if they were waving at me. Saying in a very friendly manner to come on by and buy a car!


...well, I don't really have a drivers license.

So instead of buying a car I can't afford (it was tempting, very tempting!), I decided I'd take a whole bunch of photos of the friendly flags for my post today. Aren't they great?


Take a look at different skies all around the world here.

The Potomac Cherry

I spotted this beautiful cherry tree in a bicycle parking space, next to the Seiyu in Kotesashi, the other day.

Upon closer look, I learned that this cherry tree is actually one of the descendants of the cherry trees that were given to the United States in 1912 (Thank you Al for the info!). Probably why they're called 'Potomac Cherry Tree.'

Although I have no idea how it ended up growing in the middle of a bicycle parking space, it certainly does brighten up the whole area.

I never really knew it took so long for the cherry trees given by Japan to be planted in Washington DC. It's a very interesting story and you can read about it here.

Is This It?

It hasn't snowed like this in years!

We usually only get a day or two of snow each winter. And it usually just melts away. But it started snowing last night. Everything melted during the day, but we got a taste of winter again.

It's suppose to be sunny and warm next week so I enjoyed the last bits of winter we had today.

No Driver

I guess it was too cold for anyone to want to play with the mini cars.

If I were a kid, my choice would have been the firetruck!

Nice and Warm

This is the fire burning under the special cauldron for Yakiimo, a baked sweet potato.



Have you ever tried Yakiimo?

It is soooooo good! Especially in the winter, the hot sweet potato is the perfect thing for your empty stomach. Also great to just hold while walking around to warm your hands.

Safe to Drive

This decoration hanging on the front bumper of this car is called 'Shime (she-meh) Kazari' and is a type of New Year decoration to wish for safety during the new year.

This one says 'Kotsu Anzen' which means 'Safety when driving.' Not very many cars these days decorate the car with a Shime Kazari. But there are still a lot of traditional families living in Tokorozawa.

Traditionally these Shime Kazari are put up around the house or car at the end of the year. Then on the 7th of January, which is called 'Matsu no Uchi' in Japan and considered the last day of 'Oshogatsu,' the new year's celebration, we eat 'Nanakusa Gayu' (a rice porridge made with seven different herbs) before taking all the Shime Kazari down.

I'm glad I caught this car with a fancy Shime Kazari on the morning of the 7th. Just in time!

What Color Do You See?

“An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight. . . The truly wise person is colorblind.”

- Albert Schweitzer

Red Alert!

This is Tokorozawa's fire ladder truck.

No idea why it was there but the little kids who passed by it were going wild over it, screaming 'Ooh ooh ooh kan kan kan!' which is apparently what a firetruck siren sounds like to them.

Nice Ride

I was walking towards the station when I looked down and saw this really great car. Didn't know we had these in Tokorozawa.

Watch Cat

Tokorozawa isn't a rough neighborhood at all. But this cat seemed to be looking out for the car. Or maybe the cat was just waiting for someone.

It was definately watching out for someone or something. Sweet cat.

Hitching a Ride

I found a tiny albino spider hitching a ride on my bike.

I'm hoping it just moved to the tire before I took the picture. If not, the spider's eyes must be spinning from hanging on the tire while I was riding on it.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

The rain was really coming down hard the other day.

It suddenly started pouring. Lasted about 15 mins. We've been having a lot of these squalls in the last couple of years. It's like the weather has gone tropical on us.

But the rain...it's pretty magnificent.

I like it, just as long as I'm indoors, of course.

Wet & Drippy

It's been raining like crazy these past few days. I think I actually like all this rain. It rains really hard, with thunder and lightening, but only last about an hour. Weird.

This car was still dripping from the shower this evening.